Artificial intelligence: Getting as good as the real thing - CNET

Like electricity transformed everything we do, artificial intelligence will reshape our world. AI, essentially intelligent machines, well could change industries from retail to finance to transportation.

That will change our lives, said a panel of experts Monday discussing "The State of AI" at the EmTech Digital Conference in San Francisco. And just how all companies use the Inteet, they may need to start expanding their data teams.

"Today, we're in a stage where companies are hiring a chief data officer," said Andrew Ng, the chief scientist at China's search giant Baidu. "Maybe in the future they will hire a chief AI officer as well."

Tech companies are investing heavily in AI. Google is staking its future on the company, developing a voice-powered version of its namesake search engine that will inhabit your phone, smartwatch and car. Last month, Facebook launched a new Applied Machine Leaing group that the social network claims helps its more than 1.6 billion users find content more quickly.

Sometimes, the efforts go awry. Microsoft launched a chatbot, called Tay, only to quickly pull the plug after it started tweeting racist and poographic remarks.